Founder Spotlight: Carly Mednick

Welcome to Founder Spotlight, where the trio that makes up Monday Talent’s founders answer some of the most sought-after questions for employers and their employees. 

Calling all interviewers and interviewees: let’s unpack some common questions and concerns about the interview process that you might not feel comfortable asking about. Starting with a classic interview question, “how did you hear about this position?” It might seem like a benign question, but, for interviewees, is there a right or wrong way to answer this? And, interviewers, should you still be asking this question now that industries have shifted? Monday Talent’s COO & Founder, Carly Mednick, breaks it down.

In a LinkedIn, hyper-social world, why are we still asking the “How did you hear about this job” question? 

Carly’s Take: 

For me, this question is more of a conversation starter and is asked out of genuine curiosity. It helps to know, for example, if someone was a referral from an employee. Maybe they were approached by a recruiter about the role and were sold on it. Having these connections helps to bridge the gap and weed out those who are not seriously interested in this role. 

The way someone responds to this question will not make or break an interview unless a candidate talks in circles and rambles on. Being direct, rather than talking in circles, is always the best approach to any question. “I saw it posted on the website and I was very interested,” is a very succinct way to answer. Or, “I have a friend who works here, and she suggested that I apply for the role.” 

Remember, being a good interviewee takes practice. You're probably not going to get the first job you interview for. No one's going to have the best interview of their life the first time; you're just not comfortable in that situation yet. With that in mind, you can prepare for these types of questions to have the interview go as smoothly as possible.

For interviewers, it's important to try to get the interviewee comfortable right away. There doesn't need to be a power dynamic. Even though I'm interviewing you, we're on an equal playing field, and a question like this can get us into a conversation. This question is a nice way to determine someone’s personality and learn more about them. 

In general, as an interviewer, I’m looking for some common ground, in the beginning, to get the conversation going. I always look for where they went to school – not to judge them academically, but to use it as a jumping-off point. Maybe I know someone who went there! I also ask where they’ve worked, where they grew up, if they were in a sorority or fraternity, etc. to find that common ground and make them comfortable. A question as simple as “how did you hear about this position?” can really get someone talking comfortably.

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